Enclosure construction, as for ventilating units



Mayv 26,v 1964 Filed Dec. 9, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet l O. NORDAHL May 26, 1964 i ENCLOSURE CONSTRUCTION, AS FOR VENTILATING UNITS Filed Deo. v9, 1959 2 Sheecs-SheefI 2 United States Patent O 3,134,465 ENCLOSURE CONSTRUCTION, AS FOR VENI'ILATING UNITS Otto Nordahl, Lidingo, Sweden, assignor to Aktiebolaget Svenska Flaktfabriken, Nacka, Sweden Filed Dec. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 858,393 Claims priority, application Sweden Dec. 10, 1958 2 Claims. (Cl. 189-34) 'Ihe present invention relates to an enclosure construction, as for Ventilating units disposed at outer walls, comprising a top Wall or panel preferably positioned on the level of the window sill and a vertical front wall or panel supported by and resting against respectively a frame structure fastened to the floor and/ or the wall.

It has been common to manufacture room units for ventilating plants with an enclosure formed as an integral part of the unit. To facilitate the standardizing of such room units in spite of the variations in the available local spaces it has proved suitable to manufacture the units without enclosures and instead of this to provide the units with furrings. It is an object of the invention to carry out in a simple manner said furn'ng by the aid of pre-fabricated standardized elements or members of a material resistant to moisture and heat.

The enclosure according to the invention is characterized in that the Walls or panels as well as the frame structure of the enclosure are built up by a number of standardized sheet-iron members having a channel-shaped cross-section, said members being mutually joined together by means of screws fastened to displaceable flat bars inserted into said members and extending transversely to them. To increase the rigidity of the joints the inwardly bent edges of the members along their entire lengths are provided with a roughened surface. In order to give the enclosure an attractive appearance the members of the walls of the enclosure may be covered by plastered fabrics or the like.

The invention will now be described more in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing an exemplifying embodiment of a furred-in enclosure according to the invention.

FIG. l shows a frontal view of such an enclosure.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-section of the enclosure along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the enclosure.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged front elevation of a joint connection where one of two crossing members is open to the front.

FIG. 5 is a transverse section and elevation of parts shown in FIG. 4, the view being taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a view like FIG. 4 but showing a joint connection where the members are arranged with their open sides facing each other.

FIG. 7 is a section taken on the line 7 7 of FIG. 6.

In the drawing 1 designates an outer wall of a room provided with a Ventilating room unit 2 equipped with an enclosure according to the invention. The numeral 3 designates a window sill and 4 a top wall or panel of the enclosure positioned on the level of said window sill, while 5 designates a vertical front wall or panel of the enclosure. The top wall and front wall of said enclosure are supported by and rest against frame members 6 fastened to the wall and oor respectively.

ICC

According to the invention the walls as well as the frame structure of the enclosure are built up by a number of standardized sheet iron members having a channelshaped cross-section, which in the drawing are designated 7a and 7b respectively.

The channel members constituting the walls or panels of the enclosure are joined with the channel members of the frame structure by means of screws 8, which in their turn are fastened to displaceable flat bars 9a and 9b respectively, the bars being inserted in holes in said members and extending transversally thereto. The inwardly bent edges 10a and 10b respectively of the channel members are provided with a roughened surface 11 throughout their length in order to increase the hold of the joints. The numeral 12 designates an aperture in the stem of one of the members for the access of a tool to the screws.

To make possible an inspection of the room unit, the front wall or panel of the enclosure is made with a greater or smaller number of the members which are free and detachable i.e. Without screw joints. These free members are suitably guided by resilient rails 13 and 14 respectively arranged along the upper and lower part of the front wall.

The members for the top wall of the enclosure are given such a width that any desired variation with respect to the depth of the enclosure can be obtained by using merely said standardized sheet-iron members. The necessary discharge grills 15 are made with a width corresponding to that of one or more members. In order to avoid sharp edges as well as from aesthetic view points the furred-in enclosures can be completed with a border along the joining line between the top wall and the h'ont wall.

FIG. 1 shows how the outer panel may be covered by a facing 17 of any desired type, plaster, board sheet, fabric or other one of the many known facing materials. When such an outer facing is used there will be no need to be concerned about having the back web of the panel members disposed outwardly.

It is thus seen that the invention provides a practical and convenient construction for making interior enclosures as for Ventilating equipment, wherein identical elements can be used for forming the framework, and wherein similarly shaped members can be used for enclosing wall or panel members, and also provides improved means for making joint connections for the channel-shaped members which are provided.

While one embodiment of the invention has been disclosed and described in detail for purposes of illustration, it is to be understood that there may be various embodiments and modifications within the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

l. An enclosure construction, as for Ventilating room units mounted in a room having side walls and a bottom Wall, comprising a top panel, a vertical front panel, and a supporting frame structure fastened to at least one of said walls, the panel and frame structure of the enclosure being formed by an assembly of standardized sheet-iron channel members, said channel members having a crossweb, spaced parallel legs at the opposite side edges of said web, and inturned flanges in spaced-parallel relation to said cross-web, said flanges being co-planar and terminating short of each other to define a slot therebetween, said frame structure comprising a plurality of crossing channel members having mutually facing open channel sides joined together at joints by fasteners including displaceable fiat bars inserted through said slots into said channel 3 members and extending transversely to the same to engage theinner faces of the channel anges, the outer surfaces of the anges of said channel members being roughened Valong their entire length to increase the rigidity of the joints.

2. An enclosure according to claim 1 wherein said panels are formed by an assembly of said channel members having their cross-Web outermost and disposed in edgewise abutting co-planar relationship, said panel channel members being `secured to the frame members by at anges.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Willeford Aug. 22, 19,16 Rypinski' Aug. 21, 1934 Eiber et al. June 25, 1940 Katz ..--1 Mar. 7, 1950 Kndorf Apr. 27, 1954 Attwood Dec. 7, 1954 

1. AN ENCLOSURE CONSTRUCTION, AS FOR VENTILATING ROOM UNITS MOUNTED IN A ROOM HAVING SIDE WALLS AND A BOTTOM WALL, COMPRISING A TOP PANEL, A VERTICAL FRONT PANEL, AND A SUPPORTING FRAME STRUCTURE FASTENED TO AT LEAST ONE OF SAID WALLS, THE PANEL AND FRAME STRUCTURE OF THE ENCLOSURE BEING FORMED BY AN ASSEMBLY OF STANDARDIZED SHEET-IRON CHANNEL MEMBERS, SAID CHANNEL MEMBERS HAVING A CROSSWEB, SPACED PARALLEL LEGS AT THE OPPOSITE SIDE EDGES OF SAID WEB, AND INTURNED FLANGES IN SPACED-PARALLEL RELATION TO SAID CROSS-WEB, SAID FLANGES BEING CO-PLANAR AND TERMINATING SHORT OF EACH OTHER TO DEFINE A SLOT THEREBETWEEN, SAID FRAME STRUCTURE COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF CROSSING CHANNEL MEMBERS HAVING MUTUALLY FACING OPEN CHANNEL SIDES JOINED TOGETHER AT JOINTS BY FASTENERS INCLUDING DISPLACEABLE FLAT BARS INSERTED THROUGH SAID SLOTS INTO SAID CHANNEL MEMBERS AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY TO THE SAME TO ENGAGE THE INNER FACES OF THE CHANNEL FLANGES, THE OUTER SURFACES OF THE FLANGES OF SAID CHANNEL MEMBERS BEING ROUGHENED ALONG THEIR ENTIRE LENGTH TO INCREASE THE RIGIDITY OF THE JOINTS. 